A Burning Problem
by JanusTheTraveler
Summary: When Finn mysteriously disappears, the Flame Princess must enlist the help of an unlikely ally to find him.
1. The Gift

"Jake, have you seen my other shoe? I can't find it," Finn called as he looked under his bed.

"No, man. Why are you in such a hurry, anyway? Your date isn't for hours," came the reply, drifting from downstairs.

"Dude, it's gonna be our three month anniversary. I need to find something special for her before our date." Now Finn was looking through the cupboards by his bed. "Found it!" he cried, pulling the black shoe out from the dark drawer. "Now what was it doing in there?" He shrugged, pulled it on, and bounded downstairs. Jake was there, cooking breakfast.

"There you are, man. You look great," he said. Actually, Finn looked exactly as he always did: white bear cap, blue eyes, a shirt, shorts, and sneakers. Only the look of excitement on his face betrayed the importance of this day. "So," Jake asked, his eyes narrowing slyly, "what are you going to get her?"

"I dunno, man," Finn replied. "I thought maybe some flowers. They'll burn up, but it's the thought that counts, right?" He chuckled, slightly nervous.

"Yeah, you could get her some ordinary plain-Jane flowers," Jake said casually, his back to Finn. "oooooorrrrrrr," he turned, stretching out his torso until he was barely an inch from his brother's face, "you could get her the greatest flowers ever seen in Ooo, fiery spectacular flowers, the only flowers that can grow in fire and be fine!" His eyes grew as big as saucers. "You could get her the_ Heart of the Sun!_"

"Woah," Finn said, his mouth making an O. "Where can I find it?"

"I got you covered, bro," Jake replied. He pulled his bacon pancakes from the stove and walked over to a familiar-looking book. "I thought you might need some help picking out that perfect gift for FP. So I looked through this here _book_" - he opened it - "and found this flower. It is extremely rare, and can only be found in places where a piece of the sun has crashed onto Ooo."

"And it can grow in fire?" Finn asked, entranced. This would be the_ perfect _thing to get Flame Princess.

"Yep. In fact, fire is the only thing it can grow in. Which is why I rigged _this" - _he pulled something that looked like a glass jar with leaves in it from under the table - "it's a glass jar with leaves in it, see? Put it in this to keep it alive until you get it to the princess."

Finn took the jar with reverence, and put it into his pack. "Thanks, dude. Now, where can I find a piece of the sun?"

"I found that out, too. I asked around, and it turns out a piece of the sun crashed down at the edge of the candy forest, not far from here," Jake replied proudly. He'd had this all planned out. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to prepare for my date with the _Lady_." At the last word, his voice grew deep, and he puffed up his chest, looking almost twice as big.

"Thank you so much, Jake!" Finn cried, bounding out the tree house door. "I'll be back in a little while!" He hit the ground running. Soon, he would have the Heart of the Sun, and then to see Flame Princess. Everything was going mathematical. Adventure waited!

* * *

Meanwhile, Flame Princess was getting ready for Finn's arrival. Even though she knew he couldn't come in, she straightened out her house, carefully arranging the burning pillows on the burning couch, and making sure that the embers were swept off the floor. She paused, checking her reflection in the mirror shard she had. Carefully, she adjusted the flaming tongues of her hair just so, only to have them spring back into their original positions. She sighed, blowing a lock of flames out of her face with a puff of superheated air. Oh, well.

The fire girl turned to her wardrobe, and chose a red (what other color?) dress from it. It fell down around her legs like a robe of fire, which was exactly what it was. She smiled ruefully at her reflection. The past three months had been the best of her life. Since leaving the fire kingdom, she had seen and experienced more than she thought possible. And Finn was the best part of all. He had opened a new world to her, and she couldn't wait to see him again. She knew their one month anniversary would be a night to remember.

* * *

Finn climbed the final hill, and he saw it: the edge of the candy forest. And there, a little ways in, a faint glow. Could that be the object of his quest? Forgetting the soreness in his legs, Finn ran forward, and plunged into the forest. He tore through branches, weaving through boulders of rock candy and ribbon ferns until he finally came into a clearing.

It was a small clearing, maybe 20 feet across at its widest point. Sugar grass covered the ground. But what drew Finn's eyes was the object in the center of the clearing: a flaming-hot molten mass. And perched on top was a single, burning flower. It was vaguely tulip-shaped, except that it had flames rising from the middle of the flower and a thorny, white-hot stem.

Finn approached it, feeling its heat. How to get it? He looked around for inspiration, and his eyes lit upon a candy cane nearby. After checking to see if it was a person (it wasn't), Finn grabbed it and turned around. Pulling an oven mitt from his pack, he put it on his hand, and holding the cane in his other hand, ran towards the molten mass. At the last second he dug the cane into the ground, soaring nearly two meters into the air. As he passed, he grabbed the flower with his mitted hand. The mitt immediately began to smoke. Finn landed, and quickly pulled out the jar. His hand already beginning to burn, he stuffed the flower into the jar, and closed the lid. The flames on the flower spread to the leaves, burning them with unnatural slowness. Finn hoped there would be enough fuel to get it back to Flame Princess. He put the mitt and the jar back into his pack, and turned to leave.

"Help!"

Finn whirled around. A cry for help! This sounded like a job for a hero! He scanned the clearing, but no one was there.

"Help, help!"

There it was again! It was coming from deeper inside the forest. Finn dove in without a moment's hesitation. He ran through the trees, listening as the cry for help got louder and louder. He looked around, and spotted an opening in the trees. He burst through, and found himself in another clearing.

It was smaller than the one that contained the Heart of the Sun. It was also much more interesting. For what Finn gazed upon was a tiny city. It looked just like a normal city, only minuscule. The tallest buildings were barely one foot high. And the people were no bigger than dancing bugs. Finn quickly realized the problem: a huge boulder had fallen in the middle of their city, crushing several blocks.

Carefully, so as to not squish anyone, Finn approached the city. The denizens of the tiny town turned to look at him as one. "Um, hello," Finn said awkwardly. "What happened?"

One of the people pushed his way out of the crowd, and ran into a nearby building. After a few seconds his voice, amplified many times, emerged from the structure. "Greetings, traveler! This rock abruptly fell on us from the sky, and we don't know what to do about it. If you could help, we would be very grateful!"

"Sure, I can help!" Finn responded enthusiastically. He carefully walked into the city and placed his hands on the rock.

"Forgive us, traveler," the voice inquired meekly, "but we were wondering: are you not Finn the Human, hero of Ooo?"

Finn's chest filled with pride. "Yes I am! And I'm here to help." He pulled on the rock with all his might, but it didn't budge. He tried again, but still no luck. "Maybe if I get a better hold on it..." He tried to adjust his hands, but they didn't move. "What the..." he muttered, trying again. It was almost as if he were -

"Stuck?" asked the voice mildly. "Oh dear." The speaker took on a more sinister tone. "We'll have to help you with that." Back beyond the clearing, opposite of where Finn had entered, something shifted. Something definitely not the size of the tiny people. It moved lightning fast, and before Finn could even cry out, something heavy hit him on the back of the head, and a deep and certain blackness descended on him.


	2. Fire and Ice

It was evening in Ooo. The golden sun was setting over the hills. In the distance, the silhouette of a giant could be seen lumbering around, looking for a place to spend the night. It was an extremely peaceful scene, as all of Ooo laid down for slumber.

It was very, very wrong. Flame Princess paced nervously outside of her house. Finn should have been here hours ago. At first, she had been annoyed at his tardiness, but as the minutes turned into hours, that annoyance grew into nervousness, and finally to fear. This wasn't like Finn. Occasionally some monster or demon had made him late, but he always turned up quickly and apologized profusely. Normally, she didn't mind. In fact, she thought it was cute. But now she was starting to wonder if he was in serious trouble.

She turned to the table she had set up, glaring at the coal biscuits and petrol punch as if they were the reason for Finn's tardiness. The biscuits were made of the finest anthracite, but she wasn't hungry. The Princess walked over to the water's edge, absentmindedly staring into her reflection. Though she couldn't touch it, she admired the water for its fluidity and grace. She wondered if other beings thought the same way about fire. She watched the reflection of the sun as it shed its last rays over the hills.

Sudden resolve gripped her as she stood up and turned around. "Don't worry, Finn", she muttered, clenching her fist and forming a fireball around it. "I'm coming to find you." The Princess raised her hand, and shot the fireball into the sky where it exploded into a shower of sparks. By the time they reached the ground, the girl on fire was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Finn woke up. At first, he thought he had gone blind, but quickly realized that it was simply dark, wherever he was. He groaned, and rubbed his head. What had happened? Where was he? Squinting, Finn tried to remember. He had been getting something for Flame Princess, when there had been a cry for help…

In a flash, it all came back to him: the tiny city, getting stuck, and that _something_ that had come out of the woods and knocked him out. He tried to remember what it was, then shook his head. No good. He hadn't gotten a good look at it.

Finn stood up, trying to get his bearings. He fumbled around, feeling ahead of him as best he could. He had to get out, he had to escape! He moved forward faster, trying to find a wall, some bars, anything that would orient him. Suddenly, something caught his foot, causing him to fall face first onto the bare rock ground. "Uhhhhh…." What was that? He turned around, and crawled back to where it was.

From the barest hint of light, he beheld the limp form of a person. Aha! So he wasn't alone here after all! "Hey," he whispered, "Can you hear me?" No response. Finn sat back, wishing he had some light. If only Flame Princess were here! She could light this whole place up, easy! All he needed was a little bit of….

"Fire!" He shouted, pulling off his backpack and unzipping it. A huge glow of light erupted from the pack, momentarily blinding him. He pulled the Heart of the Sun out, and held it up, waiting for his eyes to adjust. Satisfied that he could see, he turned to look at who he shared his cell with, and took a sharp breath.

"Oh no…"

* * *

Flame Princess enjoyed fire traveling. It was such a freeing feeling, to be able to move anywhere fire could, both at one with the natural world and its master. She raced over the grasslands as a streak of fire, emitting a wordless scream that blended in with the roar of the flames.

She wished Finn could experience this with her. He had shown her so much of his world, but she could show him so little of hers. They hadn't even kissed again since that first night; she didn't want to hurt him and he didn't want her to destroy the world. Sometimes she even caught herself wishing fire was less destructive, just so that she and Finn could get closer. But that destruction was a part of her, the part that her father called "evil", and what Finn said was "passionate". Even so, it could get annoying.

The Princess was interrupted in her musings by the sudden appearance of Finn and Jake's tree house over the rolling hills. She had only been there twice before, but its distinctive shape was unmistakable. She floated in for a closer look, reforming into her usual shape as she did so.

She scanned the windows, looking for some trace of where Finn might have run off to. There! As she rounded the corner, she spotted it: the lights were on in Finn's bedroom, but that wasn't all. As she watched, a figure stepped into the window, silhouetted onto the drawn curtain. It wore a backpack, and two small ears poked up from the top of its head.

Flame Princess stared incredulously at the shadow, and felt rage begin to burn inside her. The nerve! He wasn't in trouble; he had simply forgotten that they had had a date that night. The flaming girl focused on her anger, letting it build and build before releasing it onto the outside, changing shape as she did. She grew 10, 20, 30 feet tall, becoming a column of flame that roared at the tree house. She bent her head down to look at the window.

The figure inside was oblivious to the raging inferno outside his house. "So, Jake, pretty good adventuring today, right?" she heard him say.

"You bet, dude," another, higher-pitched voice replied. "I just wish we could have beaten that devious Ice King, but he's too smart and powerful for us."

"Yeah, I know, but there's always tomorrow, right?"

Flame Princess had heard enough. Gathering up all her energy, she smashed through the window, filling the room with fire and sending sparks everywere. She turned toward her unfortunate boyfriend, ready to, if not kill him, at least give him a good scorching.

She was still in the middle of her inferno when she caught sight of the figure huddled in the corner, and was totally put off her stride. The enormous fire faded down, the rippling heat cooling. The Princess slowly shrank down into her usual self, eyes boggling at the strangest sight she had ever seen.

He was a very old, very blue man, wearing nothing but a loincloth and a blue robe that was tied up at the waist. On his back was what appeared to be a large chunk of ice. His bare feet were dyed black, and sort of looked like boots from a distance. But the strangest thing of all was what he had done with his beard. The man had wrapped his beard around his face, teasing up two points of white hair to look like ears. Taken together, the outfit looked like an extremely crude approximation of what Finn normally wore, and yet she had never seen anything that looked less like Finn.

"What in the name of Glob…"

"Nooooooo! Please don't kill me, Scorcher! I'm sorry about the whole 'tricking you into thinking Finn and Jake were dead' thing; I really didn't mean it!" The strange person rolled around on the ground, shielding his face with his arms and blubbering onto the floor. The Princess said nothing. He would figure it out soon enough. "S-Scorcher?" the man peeked out through his arms, and caught a glimpse of his would-be attacker.

With a cry, he jumped up. "Well, hello there, pretty lady! Who might you be?" He hastily pulled his robe down to cover his loincloth and unwrapped his beard from his face. "Sorry for the groveling; I thought you were someone else." With a snap of his fingers, the ice block on his back shattered. "Might I assu-"

"Who are you? What are you doing in Finn and Jake's tree house?" Flame Princess balled her fists, forming fireballs around them. Whoever this strange man was, it was clear to her that he had something to do with Finn's disappearance.

The blue man showed no fear, but let out a spat of annoyance at the fire. "Oh, great! She's made of fire! Glob, that's just perfect! I finally find a princess as cute as Bubblegum, but she's made of fire." He sighed.

"Wait a minute…" The Princess studied her opponent carefully. Something about him was very familiar. Her mind flashed back to a day about three weeks ago, when Finn turned up to his date with his hand frozen in ice. _Who did this to you?_ She had asked while thawing his arm. Finn had then launched into a lengthy description of Ooo's least eligible bachelor. "You're the Ice King," she stated.

"Well, yes! Who else did you think it was?" the Ice King responded, clearly still put out by the Princess' fiery nature. He walked over to Finn's bed and sat down in a huff.

It was all coming back to Flame Princess now. The Ice King was the guy who was always trying to steal princesses, only to be thwarted by Finn. _He _certainly would have a grudge against the hero. She looked at the old wizard, who was now amusing himself by conjuring an ice storm in the palm of his hand. Funny, though: he didn't _seem_ that dangerous...

"So who exactly are you? From your crown, I take it you're a princess, but I've never seen you before." The Ice King clenched his fist around the ice storm, and looked up at the fire girl. Suddenly, he cracked a grin. "Well, from the looks of it, I can see you're really _hot stuff_!" He chortled. "Geddit?"

The Princess rolled her eyes, and shot a fireball at the king. With a yelp, the man dove out of the way. "Look, Ice King, I don't have all night. Where is Finn?"

The Ice King stood up, and brushed off his robe with as much dignity as he could muster. "_Well_. You really should learn to respect your elders. I haven't seen Finn or Jake for several days. Of course," he paused, frowning in thought, "I haven't asked any princesses to marry me for several days either, so that might be part of it. But back to who you are-"

Flame Princess sighed. This was going nowhere. "I'm the princess of the Fire Kingdom. I came here looking for Finn."

"Well, that explains the fire. But, wait!" His eyes got bigger, as if something had just occurred to him. "Maybe we could team up to take Finn and Jake out! With your fire and my ice, there's no way they could stand against us! Huh? What do you say?"

"Oh shut up, you moron. I'm not out to kill Finn; I'm his girlfriend."

The Ice King snorted. "Phffff, right. That's why you broke through the wall and tried to burn his house down."

The fiery princess noticed the damage she had caused for the first time: the wall was smashed to bits and everything in the room was torched. "I didn't mean for this to happen," she said, blushing. "I thought Finn had forgotten our date, and I was annoyed."

"'Annoyed' don't cut it, sister. You got issues."

"Yeah, maybe you're right…" the princess was embarrassed. After all Finn had done for her, this was how she had repaid him? Perhaps her father was right. Maybe she _was_ evil. The Flame Princess made a mental note to keep her emotions under a tighter lid in the future. How could she expect to have a relationship with Finn if she burned him to a crisp at the first sign of trouble?

"So…" The sound of the Ice King's voice jerked the princess back to the task at hand. "Where is Finn, anyway? I thought he would be in bed by now."

"That's the problem. He's missing, and I don't know where he is."

"All very well, but –" The Ice King broke off abruptly. "Did you say he was missing?"

"Yes"

The Ice King suddenly looked like a new man. He straightened up and walked purposefully towards the hole in the wall. "Well, princess, it was nice to meet you! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a date to set up!" He smoothed down the front of his robes.

It was obvious the Ice King wasn't going to voluntarily tell Flame Princess where he was keeping Finn. She considered blasting him until he talked. It was what her father would have done. But no, Flame Princess decided. She was going to try a more tactful, less deadly approach. "It was nice meeting you, too, Ice King. I'll see you around."

The Ice King grinned and took off into the air, giggling to himself and muttering something about some princess. He was so preoccupied with his good luck at the disappearance of the heroes that he failed to notice a streak of flame leave the tree house and follow him towards the Candy Kingdom.


	3. Commotion at the Castle

The Ice King was happy, perhaps for the first time in years.

He flapped his beard, eyeing the darkened silhouette of the Candy Castle arranged in the distance. Soon, he would be close enough to see the details of the kingdom: the gingerbread houses, gumball guardians, and candy cane street lamps. No one expected him. No one was prepared for him. For once, everything was going his way.

The Ice King wondered why he had never tried a night abduction before. Now that he thought about it, it made more sense: people were asleep, which meant that he could make a stealthy getaway with his beloved. Also, he thought to himself, the night certainly created a more romantic atmosphere. And with Finn and Jake missing, he would have more time to woo her. Maybe the Princess would actually accept his proposal this time around, not that it mattered either way.

He paused from his mental celebration to wonder where Finn and Jake were. It wasn't like them to just disappear like this. In fact, he was actually a little worried for them. Hopefully they would show up again in time for the wedding.

The Ice King was so caught up in his thoughts that it took him a while to realize something was wrong. At first, he missed the overturned trash cans, the broken windows, and the smashed lampposts. In fact, the first inkling he had that everything wasn't quite right in the candy kingdom was when he saw the mob.

It was huge and ugly, surrounding the castle like a sugary moat. Thousands of candy people, almost the entire city, were converged at the castle. Those near to the door were shouting incoherently, being held back by two figures the Ice King couldn't make out. Back at the outskirts of the mob, small fights had broken out; the beaten lying where they fell. Torches provided the whole scene with a grisly glow.

"Hmmm…" The Ice King muttered to himself, swooping down for a closer look. Clearly the candy people were upset about something. He brightened, a thought occurring to him. Maybe they finally realized that they needed a king, and were angry at their princess for refusing the continued offers of Ooo's most eligible bachelor. Well, that would change tonight! Once the princess realized how much she needed the Ice King to keep the peace in her kingdom, she would agree to marry him immediately. He grinned, turning his attention to the two figures holding off the crown.

The grin slid off his face. It was Jake! He wasn't missing at all! And with him was that infernal steed that Bubblegum was always riding around on. They were trying desperately to keep the mob from getting inside the building, Jake stretching his arms into huge walls that the candy people pushed at. The rainicorn was doing likewise, using her long body as a barricade against the enraged sweets.

The Ice King considered dropping the mission. After all, if Jake was here, Finn couldn't be far away. On the other hand, the pair clearly had their hands full. Perhaps this was the perfect time to sweep in and take the princess. He might never get another chance like it. So the Ice King continued on, swooping over the mob, and heading to the tower where Princess Bubblegum's bedroom was located. Soon, they would be together again.

Down on the ground, however, the fiery streak that had been tailing him since he left the tree house changed its direction, and headed right for the mob.

* * *

Jake was having a bad day. It hadn't started out that way, but then, bad days rarely do. He'd gotten up this morning, fixed breakfast, and filled Finn in on the whole "gift for Flame Princess" thing. Then, he'd played Beemo for a while, before finally getting ready for his date with Lady Rainicorn. They'd never gone on that date. As soon as Jake arrived in the kingdom, he'd immediately been pulled into crowd control, where he'd spent the rest of his time. To top it off, Finn was gone, presumably still on his date with Flame Princess.

They were losing against the crowd. Jake had stretched his limbs into several barricades to keep the candy people out, but they just kept coming. He could feel them slowly pushing him and Lady back. Soon, there would be nowhere left to go but inside the castle. He turned to Lady. "We can't hold out much longer! We're going to have to fall back!"

"우리는 성 가을 순 없어!" Lady replied, pushing her body harder against the crowd.

"Well, what do you suggest we do, then? I'm out of ideas!" Jake thought about trying another barricade type, perhaps one with spikes. That would keep them back. Suddenly, he noticed something in the back of the crowd. A torch held by an enraged marshmallow suddenly flared much brighter than it should have, toasting him slightly.

"봐!" Lady cried, but Jake was already watching, transfixed, as the marshmallow man dropped the torch in surprise. But the flame didn't stop there. It arced, like a fiery rainbow, over the heads of the crowd, bouncing from one torch to another. It was moving toward the doors.

"What the…?" Jake said aloud, but the flame took no notice. It bounced off one more torch, then arced neatly over Jake's barricades. There, it twisted and grew, forming into a figure Jake knew well. "Flame Princess! What are you doing here? Where's Finn?"

The princess of fire turned to him. "Jake is that you? Where's Finn? What's going on here?"

"What do you mean, 'where's Finn'? He's with you, on his date!"

The Princess shook her head. "He never showed up. I thought this mob was why. You're sure he's not here?"

"Pretty sure," Jake replied, straining against the crowd. "Listen, do you think you could help us out here? Maybe give them a little flame show or something? My hands are a little full here."

"What? Oh, sure." The Princess focused, drawing her power from the many flames around her. The torches that the candy people carried dimmed, then flared brightly, causing their holders to drop them. At the same time, the princess grew three times her size, sending a wall of heat towards the crowd.

With a cry, the candy mob fell back. While they were distracted, Jake and the Lady opened the castle doors and ran inside. Shrinking back, the Flame Princess followed suit. Jake braced the door with a nearby candy cane.

"Okay, so what's going on?" Flame Princess asked, trying her best to calm down. To tell the truth, the power from the torches had been intoxicating. She had gotten a taste of real fire, her first since the burning of the goblin kingdom, and knew that with a single thought, she could set the entire castle aflame. The idea of it both exhilarated and terrified her. She gulped, then forced her fiery nature back down.

"Well," Jake responded, oblivious to the elemental's internal struggle. "The candy people are angry. They think Princess Bubblegum has betrayed them."

"_What?_" Flame Princess was shocked. She didn't know Princess Bubblegum very well, but one thing was for sure: she cared about the Candy Kingdom more than anything.

"Yeah, I know. But apparently, about three days ago, PB went for a walk in the woods. Something must've happened, because when she came back, she began to impose all sorts of harsh laws. She raised prices, and threw anyone who opposed her into the dungeon. Finally, the candy people snapped." He gestured to the door. "Hence the mob."

"What was Princess Bubblegum thinking? Didn't she know this would happen?"

"That's just the thing. When I first got here, I smelled something fishy going on. So I went to the Princess's room to confront her about it. But when I got there, she'd-"

He was interrupted by a loud wail that echoed down from the castle tower. "Nooooooo! My love! Where is she?"

Princess Bubblegum was gone.

* * *

**AN: Whew! So here's the third part of my little fanfic. I hope you guys have been enjoying the story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Anyway, if you would take the time to review my story, I'd really appreciate it. It just takes a few seconds, and really makes my day. This is my first stab at Fan Fiction, so any tips on how I'm doing would be appreciated. See y'all at Part 4!**

**-Janus**


	4. Of Nature

It was about two hours before she awoke. Finn didn't mind waiting; after all, he wasn't going anywhere. He occupied himself with figuring out exactly where they were. It turned out to be a cell of sorts; he found the door, wooden and reinforced with metal bars. The whole cage wasn't much bigger than his bedroom in the tree house, and it was bare. It contained nothing he could use for escape: no toilets, no food, not even a bedroll. From the dripping sounds and overall dankness, he guessed they were in some sort of cave.

He was finally pulled back from his exploration by the sounds of her stirring. He rushed back to her side. "Careful, Princess. You're going to want to conserve your strength."

Princess Bubblegum gradually returned to consciousness. "What? Who's there?" Her eyes landed on the human boy. "Finn! You're finally here! I'm saved!" She coughed and sat up, beaming at her would-be hero. "Where's Jake? Is he holding off the enemy?" her voice gradually faded as she saw the look on Finn's face. "…Finn?"

He turned away from her. "I'm sorry, Princess. I was captured, same as you."

"Oh…" Bubblegum said, happiness draining out of her. "What happened?" She listened in silence as Finn told the story of his kidnapping. Once he had finished, she nodded. "That's pretty much how they got me too. I remember wondering if I would be able to lift the rock, but no one else was around, so I figured I might as well give it a shot."

Finn turned back to her. "Did you get a good look at what took you out?"

She shook her head. "No, it moved too quickly. Finn, what are we going to do? No one knows where we are. My people are probably worried sick about me, and with you here now, all of Ooo is in danger!"

Finn frowned. "I know," he said. "I just have to figure out how we're going to get out of here, and then..." He stopped abruptly, distracted by a sudden dimming of the light in the room. Princess Bubblegum turned, and noticed the room's light source for the first time. It looked like a burning flower in a jar. As she watched, it slowly began to fade, burning through the last of the leaves in the bottom of the jar. Wondering what Finn thought of this spectacle, she turned to him and was surprised to find a new look on his face: hope.

"Flame Princess," he stated. "Flame Princess will save us."

Princess Bubblegum said nothing, but inside she muttered a groan of annoyance. _Flame Princess! _She had hoped Finn would be done with Flame Princess after they kissed and she almost destroyed the planet, but to her dismay, they had stayed together. It wasn't that Bubblegum disliked Flame Princess; rather, she was just too dangerous for Finn. And now he was counting on her to _save_ them? The candy princess didn't like this one bit.

"Listen, Finn," she began hesitantly, choosing her words carefully. "I'm not sure we should rely on Flame Princess to save us." Finn said nothing, so she continued. "I'm just saying, maybe we should make our own plans to escape instead."

Finn turned to her. "Look around, PB," he said, gesturing, "we're trapped underground, probably surrounded by all sorts of hideous evil. Whoever captured us took my sword, so I'm helpless. We can't get out of here on our own."

"Well," said Bubblegum, frowning, "what about Jake? He'll come searching for you, won't he?"

"No, he's on a date with Lady, remember? And I was supposed to be with Flame Princess this evening, so he won't wonder where I am when he comes back. Flame Princess, on the other hand, will know by now that something's up, and she'll get to the bottom of it, just wait!" Finn looked at her, the hope on his face now tempered with a note of defiance. "What makes you think we can't count on her?"

Bubblegum sighed. She didn't want to hurt Finn, but she had to tell the truth. "Flame Princess is… fickle, Finn." She began gently. "I know you like her and all, but it would only take a slight mishap in the relationship for her to turn on you. It's not her fault: it's just her nature. Expecting her to maintain friendly and stable relations towards anyone for an extended length of time would be tantamount to expecting her to… to…." Bubblegum trailed off, struggling to find the right words.

"…defy nature." Finn finished, staring at the Princess like he was seeing her for the first time. His chest began to swell, and he turned scarlet with rage.

"Yes," Bubblegum said, oblivious to the sudden change in Finn. "I'm relieved you're taking this so well; I had worried that—"

"_Who do you think you are?!"_ Finn exploded, jumping up. "How _DARE_ you say that about her? You know _NOTHING_ about us!" Years of repressed thoughts and emotions had suddenly bubbled to the surface of Finn's mind. He wanted nothing more than to hurt the girl before him; to cut her down to his level.

Bubblegum stared, speechless, but Finn wasn't done. "I've spent the last _THREE YEARS_ bailing you out! Who was it who always saved you from the Ice King? Who was it who stayed by your side when the Lich possessed you? Who was it who went on a quest to make your science barbeque the very best ever? ME!"

"I—" Bubblegum started, but Finn cut her off.

"I've braved zombies, giants, parties, wizards, and Glob-knows-what-else for you! And you know why? Because I liked you! I hoped that, maybe, if I could impress you enough, you would like me back. But you always shrugged me off, laughing at the 'silly boy' who loved you," he shouted, pacing back and forth. "And then I met someone else, someone my own age, who took me seriously, who actually liked me back. I began to realize that maybe you _were_ too old for me, and I moved on. _But you won't let me go!_ You can't just let me be happy; you have to –"

"Oh, Finn, _open your eyes!_" Princess Bubblegum yelled back at him. She had had quite enough of this. "Flame Princess is a _FIRE ELEMENTAL_. Fire is at the very heart of her being! And what does fire do?" she asked, jumping up herself. "It. Burns. Everything. It consumes and destroys; only leaving an area after all has been devoured. Fire does not build up. Fire does not create. Fire _uses._ That's what she's doing: she's USING you! Sure, you're real interesting right now, but wait until you cross her, Finn!" Bubblegum bent down to look Finn right in the eye. "_She will burn you alive!"_

"Is that why you had her locked up?" Finn asked, meeting her gaze without flinching.

Bubblegum blanched. "I- I had no choice. She was a danger to all of Ooo. You saw that for yourself." The memory of Finn and Flame Princess' first kiss seemed to hover in the air between them. "Look, Finn," she said, sighing. "You didn't save me all those times for so selfish a reason as love. You saved me because you're a hero. But lately, you've been something else first. Do you know how long I was locked in this cage before you showed up? I counted the number of meals I've been served. I've been in here for_ three days_. The whole time I kept expecting you to come and rescue me, but you never did. Heroes have responsibilities, Finn, just like everyone else, and Flame Princess is making you forget your duties!"

"_Duties?!_" Finn yelped in astonished fury. "You want to talk to me about _duties_? You should fulfill your own before you lecture someone else about _duties_."

"What do you mean?" the Princess asked, even though, deep down, she already knew the answer. Maybe she always had.

"Lemongrab! You made him; he was your creation, your _son_!" Finn was beyond angry; in fact, he looked slightly deranged. "So what if he didn't come out right? That's no reason to ship him away and pretend he never happened! But that's what you do, isn't it? When a problem you can't get rid of comes around, you just sweep it under the bed. You did the same thing with Flame Princess! Stuffing her in a lamp certainly didn't help her stability! Perhaps if you had tried to teach her to control her emotions, she would be fine now! Or maybe," he continued, breathing faster now, "if you had worked with Lemongrab more, he might have changed! Maybe when he came to take over the kingdom for a few years, it wouldn't have been so bad! And maybe then you could've stayed 13, and we— arghh!" he broke off, the last word becoming a sob. Angrily, Finn wiped his face and turned away from her, back towards the faintly glowing jar. "And now," he choked, "Her flower's dying and I don't have anything to feed it, and when she sees it dead, she'll hate me too, and I just- can't-" He stopped abruptly, desperately trying to hold in his sobs.

It was there, watching the young boy dote over the jar and cry quietly, that Princess Bubblegum finally realized how much she had hurt him. He ignored her as she approached him from behind, turning only when she tapped him on the shoulder.

Wordlessly, she held out her handkerchief to him.

Finn looked at it for a long moment, and then took it. Without a sound, he unscrewed the lid of the jar and placed the handkerchief into it. It immediately caught fire, and the flower blazed brightly again. Finn screwed the lid back on and set the jar down. Bubblegum moved over next to him, and the pair watched over the fire in silence, waiting for someone, or something, to find them.

* * *

**AN: Another day, another chapter. Or something like that. Sorry it took longer this time; figuring out the dynamics of Finn and Princess Bubblegum's fight was really hard. Anyway, be sure to review my work; I really like the feedback on how I'm doing (and if you already have, ****_thank you so much)_****. I envision this story to continue for two (maybe three) more chapters, hopefully concluding before the end of next week. After that, I start to get pretty busy. Anyway, thank you guys for reading my work, and I'll see you at the next chapter!**

**-Janus**


	5. Sleuthing It Out

"Hey, I think I might have found something!" the Ice King called from across the clearing. "Oh, wait, never mind. It's just a leaf. Mmmmm, that's disappointing. But wait! Here's a clue, it's– just my wizard eyes again. Darn. Oh, here! I got …."

Flame Princess sighed, and tuned the old man out further. She had stopped responding to him hours ago, but he took no notice, rambling on without a care in the world. She supposed it was because he spent so much time alone, and would have felt quite sorry for him if he would just _shut up_.

The fire girl wondered whose idea it was to have the Ice King accompany her. Oh, yeah: hers. She thought back to the quick meeting the four of them had held once the door had been barricaded.

_"Jake, you stretch yourself into Princess Bubblegum and ride the steed," (here Lady gave a snort of annoyance), "away from the kingdom. We have to stop the candy people from destroying the castle!"_

_"What about you?"_

_"I'll search for Finn and the Princess. Their disappearances must be connected somehow. If I can find –"_

_"WAIT!" The Ice King appeared from the upper reaches of the castle. "You're looking for Princess Bubblegum? Take me with you! I can help!"_

_Flame Princess considered it. She felt quite capable of tackling any danger that came her way, but the Ice King might come in handy anyways. At the very least, he was an extra pair of eyes. "Fine. You come with me. Now, everybody, we don't have any time to lose, so let's do this!"_

Well, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. She focused her attention back to the task at hand.

The two of them were standing in a large clearing near the edge of the candy forest. It was a very unremarkable clearing, except for the fact that a large molten _something_ sat in the middle of it. Even though she was standing several meters back, Flame Princess could feel its power. It was easily the hottest thing she had ever encountered, and she regarded it with a sort of jealous awe. She wished _she_ could burn that hot.

Or maybe she didn't. Ever since she had almost burned Finn and Jake's tree house down, Flame Princess had been less keen on fire. Usually, thinking about whom she was and the power she wielded filled her with righteous pride. But now a twinge of guilt had crept into her thoughts. She had hurt people: the goblins, the marauders, even Finn. Granted, the marauders at least had asked for it: always picking fights and challenging people to wrestling competitions. She wondered where they had sailed in that boat Finn had helped them build. Hopefully they were okay.

"Hey, look! I actually found something this time!" The Ice King's excited shouts roused her from her musings. She walked over to where he was.

"What is it?"

"I picked up Finn's trail again, see?" The Ice King gestured to some faint footprints in the sugar grass. "Looks like he was running towards that fiery thing over there."

Flame Princess felt a moment of dread. _No, _she thought. _He couldn't have…. _She moved towards the center of the clearing, following Finn's footprints. He got closer and closer, and… there! An imprint of something stuck right next to his footprint. He had vaulted over it with something. "But why…?"

The Ice King, meanwhile, had been following the trail on the other side. "I found something else!" he said, holding up a long candy cane. He licked it. "Mmm, tasty."

The princess rolled her eyes. That explained what Finn used to jump over the molten rock. She still couldn't figure out what would make him do such a thing, but she pushed it out of her head for now. With any luck, she could ask him herself.

* * *

The prisoners' vigil was finally broken with the sound of footsteps. Finn looked up from the flower and peered through the metal bars of the cell. "Who's there?" He called, getting to his feet. "Show yourself!" Beside him, Princess Bubblegum stood up as well, fists clenched in anger.

"Whoever you are, you're making a big mistake!" She shouted at the approaching footsteps. "I am the princess of a _very important kingdom_, and when my subjects find out about this, you'll be sorry!" The two prisoners watched as a hazy silhouette began to form in the darkness.

"Actually," the figure said, stepping into the light, "it's _you_ who'll be sorry, my dear." Finn and Bubblegum gaped at the person who stood before them.

A second Princess Bubblegum smiled at them.

* * *

The trail was easy to follow. Finn had evidently made no attempt to cover his tracks as he crashed through the candy underbrush. Flame Princess led the way, leaving a smoking trail of caramelized sweets behind her. The Ice King followed, taking care not to step in the Princess' gooey wake.

They eventually came to another clearing, this one bigger than the first. Instead of a molten mass, this clearing seemed to contain a small city. Flame Princess found this slightly interesting, but she wasn't one to be distracted by idle curiosity. She noted that it appeared abandoned. Whoever lived here was long gone.

"Look!" The Ice King called. She looked, and saw what he was pointing to: a boulder sat in the middle of the city, crushing several blocks. "What's this doing here?" He scratched his head and then leaned forward to touch it.

"Don't!" Flame Princess yelled at him. She couldn't explain why, exactly, but something about the rock seemed _wrong_ to her. "Don't touch the rock. It might be a trap!"

Ice King snorted. "No way. I may not look it, but I've been around for a while. It's way too obvious to be a trap." He moved his hand forward again, and the princess did the only thing she could think of.

The Ice King yelped and ducked as the fireball roared over his head. "Now what was _that _for?" He whined, turning to the fire girl. "I was just going to—hey!" He dodged another fireball that raced toward him. "Why you-"

"Sorry, Ice King" Flame Princess said, although she didn't look that sorry. "You can't touch that rock. I'm sure it's some sort of trap."

"Oh yeah? I can do whatever I want. You think _you_ can stop me?" He bent down towards the rock again, as if to rub his independence in the princess' face. His finger almost brushed the boulder when a third fireball whizzed at him. Jumping out of the way, he cursed. "That does it! You want to cross swords with the likes of the Ice King, eh? You need to _cool down_!" As he said this, he shot two streams of ice from his hands. They hit the princess, causing her to tumble backwards. "Now, _watch this!_" He stuck out his tongue and pressed it to the boulder.

"Ugh! Why you-!" With a yell, the Princess leapt to her feet, becoming a column of flame as she did so. The princess of flames was _through _with this little man. All he did was jabber on and crack lame puns. She hurled a fireball at the Ice King, who still hadn't pulled his tongue off of the boulder. "You've done it _this_ time, Ice King."

The Ice King had meanwhile been trying to pull his tongue off of the pole. Seeing the incoming fireball, he cried out and conjured an ice wall to block the assault. He pulled his head back again, tongue stretching to comical proportions. "Thuck?" He tried a third time. "Thuck!"

Flame Princess was too far gone to hear him. She shot several more gouts of flame at his feet, forcing the Ice King into an awkward dance. He retaliated, throwing several ice spears at the girl, but she melted them effortlessly. Face morphing into a gout of flames, she raised her right hand. A fireball grew into it, smaller than others she had made. It twitched with energy, and she had to struggle to keep it in check. The Ice King whimpered.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sowy! Pwease!"

She paid him no attention, focusing instead on the fireball in her hand. Raising both arms above her head, she prepared to smite the rock and the annoying man stuck to it off the face of Ooo.

She never got the chance.

* * *

Finn and Bubblegum stared, dumbfounded, at the pink princess. There was no doubt about it: this was PB, alright. She wore the classic princess garb, and her pink hair hung down past her waist. She looked almost exactly like the princess sitting next to him. Almost. As she stepped forward, Finn noticed something _off_ about her. After a moment's concentration, he realized it was her skin. It seemed, well, _lumpy_, as if it had slightly melted. He shuddered.

The Bubblegum sitting next to him finally found her voice. "Wh- Who are you?"

"I should think that would be obvious," the other Bubblegum said, and Finn immediately felt a chill pass down his spine. She was speaking, but the movements of her mouth didn't match up with her words. In fact, the mouth simply moved up and down, like the mouth of a marionette. It was incredibly creepy.

"You two are wanted in the main chamber," not-Bubblegum said, fumbling with something at her waist. She brought up a key.

"Who are you, and why do you look like Peebles?" Finn asked, channeling his discomfort into anger. "You better let us out of here if you know what's good for you!"

"Didn't you just hear me? I _am _letting you out. It's time for your unmasking," not-Bubblegum replied. She reached to put the key in the keyhole, but somehow missed.

"You idiot! I told you it was two inches more to the left!"

"Okay, okay! You're right. Jeesh. You don't have to be so mean about it."

"Pipe down! They'll hear us!"

Finn frowned. The voices he had just heard seemed to come from not-Bubblegum's _hand_. As he watched, several lumps on her hand rearranged themselves, and suddenly the key was in the lock. The door opened.

"Vile fiend! Now that you've let us out, we're escaping!" Finn cried as he bounded out of the cell. "Come on, PB!"

He had run a little ways down the hall before he realized she wasn't following him. "PB?" He turned. She was standing right next to her doppelganger, a resigned look on her face.

"Finn, we have no idea where we are. These tunnels could be miles long. We should stick to… uh, _me_, I guess, for the time being. At least she knows her way around."

"But…." Finn didn't want to stay with the Bubblegum that gave him the creeps. Frankly, he didn't much want to stay around the real Bubblegum either. Their argument was still fresh in his mind. But Finn was a hero, and saving the princess was one of his duties. "Fine. We'll stick to creepy PB for now."

Creepy PB had been watching this exchange with mild interest. "Now that you've figured that out, follow me."

She led the two through the twisting tunnels, and Finn immediately realized that Bubblegum was right. There was no way the two of them would be able to figure out how to escape. He tried remembering the path they took, but quickly gave it up. It was just too complicated.

"So," he said, making a stab at conversation. "Who are you?"

She didn't look at him. "I am Bonnibel Bubblegum, princess of the Candy Kingdom. Please hold all other questions until we arrive." It was a fairly good approximation of Peebles' own voice, complete with prissiness. But it didn't answer Finn's question.

"Come on," he tried again. "Who are you _really?_"

"Please hold all other questions until we arrive."

Finn sighed. It looked like he wasn't going to get anything out of her. He kept his mouth shut for the rest of the walk.

Eventually, they rounded a corner and Finn could tell they had arrived. The three of them were standing at the edge of a huge cavern, lit with torches along the edges. In the middle of the cavern was a huge miniature city. Finn realized that it looked just like the one he had seen in the candy forest, except this one was much bigger. In the middle of the city was a large circular portion that was devoid of buildings. A large metal beam rose from the center of this area, reaching all the way to the ceiling. Finn wondered if it was a support.

The city was filled with the same sort of people he had seen in the forest. They turned to look at the three figures that had entered the cavern. As Finn watched, one of them pushed out of the crowd and entered a nearby building. A moment later, a voice boomed out of the building.

"Welcome, Finn the Human and Princess Bubblegum."

Finn recognized it as the same voice he had heard in the forest. "You! Where have you taken us? What's going on?"

The voice chuckled. "Calm yourself, Finn. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself for your unmasking."

There was that word again: unmasking. Finn saw Princess Bubblegum take a step forward, drawing herself up to her full height. She gazed at the scene before her with regal distain. "As Princess of the Candy Kingdom, one of Ooo's most powerful kingdoms, I command that you tell us who you are and what you are doing with us."

Finn was impressed; the voice was not. "As you wish, _princess_." It cleared its throat. "We are the miniature people of Micropolis. For generations, we have lived peacefully in the Candy Forest and the caves underneath it. Then, one day about a year ago, a foul ogre came into our midst. He was big and green, and also a huge jerk. He kicked our houses down and played with us like we were dolls. He even threw a huge boulder into the middle of our city. Finally, we had had enough of it. We needed to get rid of the ogre. But how?"

Finn felt his stomach drop as he realized who they were talking about. It was a grass ogre that they had run into in the past, and tried to cure of his jerkiness. It had worked, but in doing so they had almost let whywolves destroy a village of building people. The only way to save the village had been to make him be a jerk again. Evidently, he had moved on from the building people.

The voice was still talking. "Eventually some of our scientists came up with a plan. Using materials we found around the forest, we managed to make a replica of the ogre. Filling it with our own people to make it move, we managed to scare the ogre away, but not before first learning who had made him into a jerk."

As he said this, Finn saw something _huge_ move out of the corner of his eye. He turned, gulping at the figure before him. It was the grass ogre - Lenny, he thought his name was—but it wasn't at the same time. Like the other Bubblegum, his grassy skin had a lumpy look about it, as if something was crawling around under his skin. It was really creepy. Not-Lenny moved lightning fast, and Finn was suddenly grabbed.

"We realized something, Finn the Human," the voice continued. "We realized that the leaders of Ooo are _jerks_! They don't care about their subjects, only their royal behinds. So we've decided to take over for them."

From across the room, Finn saw something else come out of the shadows. It was a giant rack, filled with what looked like costumes. Finn looked closer, and gasped as he realized they were suits, one for each princess. He recognized Hotdog Princess, Jungle Princess, even a purple blob that he thought looked like Lumpy Space Princess. And at the end was—

He gasped. It was _him_! He would recognize the white bear cap and backpack anywhere.

"That's right," the voice cackled. "We're replacing _all_ of you! Our experiment with Bubblegum went so well, we decided to extend it to all the princesses. We'll have to kidnap them first, but that shouldn't be too hard, now that we've got Finn on our side! You'll lead them to the boulder, which, incidentally, is right above us, and then we'll lower them down on that platform!" The green ogre pointed to the metal beam rising from the ground.

"Wait, the sticky rock is right above us?" Finn asked, thinking fast. If he could trick them to lowering it, maybe they could make an escape. He had to warn the other Princesses!

"Yes. Now stand still and watch as we recreate you!" The voice laughed as a stream of tiny people began to climb up the rack and towards the Finn disguise. Finn's mind raced. If he could just distract them for a second, then –

Something exploded far above them, and the ground shook. "What the-?" Finn muttered, but was cut off by another explosion.

"Something's attacking the city!" The voice cried in a panicked tone. "Quickly; we must defend it! Lower the boulder!"

Finn seized his chance. As soon as the voice became distracted, he lashed out at the fake ogre, causing it to cry out and drop him. He landed in a combat stance, ready for a fight.

Suddenly, a groan was heard as the platform began to lower. Finn saw a circular piece of the ceiling fall away, carried by the metal beam. He saw the outline of the boulder, silhouetted by the stars. But that wasn't all he saw.

Someone was stuck to the boulder by what looked like his tongue. He was thrashing back and forth as another figure flew around him, shooting fireballs at him periodically. The sight was so unexpected that everything stopped. The city and its prisoners stared as one. Slowly, the platform continued to lower, creaking as it brought the two fighters closer to the ground. Finally, with a last groan, it settled into the ground.

The one stuck to the boulder was staring at the crowd with huge eyes, but the other one, who seemed to be on fire, hadn't even noticed the change in scenery. She held up a fiery hand. "Any last words?"

The man wasn't paying attention. He searched the crowd, eyes landing on a familiar face. "Hey, Binn! Hey, Pwincess Thublegum!" The Ice King said.

* * *

**AN: So, hey guys. I'm back. Sorry it took so long to post this next chapter. I was busy and stuff, but I still put it off. Oh well, here it is, longer than I expected. I had to force myself to write the last part, since it just wasn't coming to me. I'm still not too happy with it, but hopefully it wasn't too confusing. If it is, let me know in a review. Bonus points to whoever can find the movie reference I put in here. Until next time!**

**-Janus**


	6. Rescue

Chapter 6: Rescue

At the sound of Finn's name, Flame Princess whirled around. And stared. She was in a huge cavern, dimly lit by dozens of torches. Thousands of tiny people looked at her, their eyes wide as saucers. And at the back of the crowd, crouched in a fighting position, was –

"Finn!"

"_Flame Princess?_ What are you doing here?"

"I came to rescue you! What's happening?" She blushed. He was looking at her with such undisguised admiration that it was a little embarrassing.

"Well, you see—"

"CHARGE!" Finn's explanation was interrupted by a loud voice, and suddenly the mass of little people surged forward. They climbed the podium towards the rock, looks of hate on their tiny faces. Flame princess stepped back.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Flame Princess! Look out! They're going to capture you and make you a puppet!" Finn called over the crowd. She saw he was fighting a dozen of them.

She turned back towards the tiny people. "Stay back! I don't want to hurt you!" They kept coming, so she sent a warning burst of flame at them. They faltered, but continued.

"Uh, guyths?" The Ice King spoke; she had almost forgotten he was here. "A litthle help?" He was still trying to pull his tongue off of the rock. She wondered what to do about him, when suddenly she felt a sharp pain on her ankle.

"Ouch! What was…." Her throat clenched when she realized what was happening. The tiny people had finally reached her. Unable to hit her, they were actually _spitting_ on her! The nerve! To spit on a princess of the fire nation! "Why, you _insolent_ little _pipsqueaks!_" Her voice deepened as she swelled and grew. "I will _end_ you!"

Behind her, the Ice King whimpered.

* * *

Finn, meanwhile, was losing. The battle had started again, and he saw the grass ogre shamble towards him. He struck a combat stance. "Alright, you! Prepare for a knuckle sandwich!"

Then the ogre hit him so hard he flew twenty feet backward and slammed into the cavern wall.

Pulling himself up, Finn groaned. "Finn!" Princess Bubblegum called to him. She was grappling with her other self, the fight evenly matched. Finn saw Bubblegum punch her puppet and follow up with a swinging kick. The puppet ducked, bringing around a fist to clobber PB in the jaw. The fist grew and swelled as more of the little people rushed into it. It hit Bubblegum with the force of a mace. She flew backward and hit a rock.

With a howl of rage, Finn dove at the imposter. He punched it in the stomach, then dodged the mace fist as it whooshed over his head. He got in another blow, this time to its face. His fist left a huge dent that quickly began to correct itself. Finn groaned. The little people themselves seemed to be almost indestructible, and they quickly repaired any damage Finn was able to make. _I need something that will totally destroy these puppets so that they won't be able to fix themselves, _he thought as he dodged another punch.

_I need a sword._

* * *

The Ice King yelped as another burst of flame whipped past his head, singing the tips of his hair. He twisted away from the rolling inferno that was Flame Princess and shot a puff of ice at her. The ice vaporized almost immediately but did manage to negate some of the heat directed his way.

He knew that she wasn't fighting him but it didn't matter; the intense heat and stray fireballs that she was giving off threatened to cook Ice King into a cinder. He watched as she shot more fire at the advancing wave of little people. They fell back, wavering. With a mighty roar, Flame Princess released a rolling torrent of flame over the platform. The Ice King yelped and quickly blocked it with ice, but the little people weren't so lucky. They tumbled and rolled away, falling in droves off the platform.

Ice King watched Flame Princess cool down and settle back into her normal shape. "Hey, toots!" he called. "Now that you've finished with those little guys, how about springing me from this joint?"

Flame Princess frowned in confusion at the words, but before she could say anything a large rock flew out of the darkness and swished past her, missing her by inches. She whirled around, facing an enormous figure looming behind her. A strange-looking grass ogre was walking towards the platform, rock held in each hand. He growled.

"So you wanna play now too, eh?" Flame Princess muttered, transforming back into a column of fire. The ogre threw another boulder and the princess twisted to dodge it. The Ice King groaned. He was _never_ going to get unstuck. His eyes lazily traced the arc of the third boulder, then widened as the boulder flew right towards him. The Ice King barely had time to open his mouth before the boulder smashed the rock he was stuck on into a million pieces. He flew off the platform and landed hard on the floor a distance away.

"Ugggh…" he muttered as he sat up, rubbing his head. "Ouch…" He suddenly shot up, frantically feeling his mouth. "I'm free!" he shouted, jumping up and dancing around on the spot. "Heh, heh, heh! Sorry boys!" he called to no one in particular, "you'll have to get up earlier than that to catch the Ice King!" He grinned, flashing his sharp teeth.

Another boulder flew through the air towards him.

Ice King's grin vanished. He rose off of the ground, his beard flapping. Growling, he raised his hands and shot a beam of ice at the boulder, knocking it off course. It slammed into the wall and shattered. The Ice King gave a snort of approval.

"Ow! What the stuff, Ice King?"

The Ice King whirled around and beheld a very disgruntled Finn picking himself up. Ice fragments lay all around him. "Oh," the Ice King said. "Sorry, Finn."

Finn dusted himself off and glared at the old man. "Seriously, Simon," he said, "you need to get your eyes checked or something." At that moment a large _thing_ looking somewhat like hotdog princess jumped out of the shadows and barreled into Finn. Cursing, Finn grappled with it, but his punches simply sunk into the princess. Ice King whistled a little tune and tried not to look. Finn needed his privacy.

At last Finn seemed to gain the upper hand. He pinned hotdog princess down and grabbed a shard of Ice that lay nearby. Holding it like a knife, he quickly slashed the princess in two. A great mass of little people flowed out of the wound. Hotdog princess tried to fight back, but a few more strikes made short work of her. The little people scurried away and Finn stood up, panting. He looked at the ice shard in his hand, then back at the Ice King, who scratched his belly.

Finn's face lit up. Dropping the ice, he ran over to the blue man. "Ice King!" he said, grabbing the king's robe and pulling him down. "You can make anything with ice, right?"

The Ice King puffed out his chest. "Anything at all," he said, then scratched the side of his head thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose I couldn't make _fire_ or anything, but you know, even ice has its limits…." He trailed away, mumbling.

"That's great, Ice King," Finn said hurriedly, "but can you make a sword?"

The Ice King harrumphed. "_Of course_ I can make a sword," he said, bringing his hands up. They glowed blue, and a moment later a shining sword of ice floated in the air above him. "How to you like _tha-"_

Finn snatched the sword and dove back into the fray. "Thanks, Ice King," he shouted, cleaving a strange-looking Slime Princess in half.

The Ice King watched him go then let his eyes drift over the battle. Flame Princess was hurling fireballs at the ogre, who was dodging the brunt of them. Princess Bubblegum was lying on the ground, motionless, as a host of strange creatures advanced on her, and Finn was—

Wait. Ice King jerked his head back around to where the Princess was laying. Bubblegum was in trouble! She needed help. She needed _him!_ The Ice King felt a sort of giddy rage overcome him. "No one," he said, gritting his teeth and charging up an ice blast, "hurts my PRINCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEESSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

* * *

Finn was on a roll. His new ice sword flashed and spun, princess puppets falling all around him. He ducked under the massive fist of Muscle Princess and dodged a kick from Raggedy Princess, twirling his sword around to slice Breakfast Princess in the torso. She broke open like a piñata, little people streaming across the ground.

A growl told him that Muscle Princess was coming in for another strike. Finn turned and was greeted with a large green fist that slammed into his jaw and sent him flying five feet in the air. Dazed, he felt a breeze against his neck and realized that Muscle Princess had punched his hat clean off. For the briefest moment Finn floated in the air, watching the battle all around him.

Flame Princess had cornered the grass ogre and was shooting a steady stream of fire at it; little people fanned out all around, running from the blaze, growing taller all the while. Finn felt a moment of pride watching her. Then his eyes drifted to Princess Bubblegum, and his heart lurched. She lay face up, a dribble of candy syrup leaking from a cut above her eye. A freakshow of puppets were descending all around her. Finn's mind raced; he was too far away to get to her in time… he was falling, about to return to his own fight… but he had to save her….

There was a screech, and suddenly the Ice King was there, shooting Ice at anything that moved, shouting curses at the puppets, defending Bubblegum. Finn's eyes bugged for a moment, but he didn't have time to ponder it. Quickly deciding that Bubblegum would be safer with the Ice King than with the puppets, Finn tightened his grip on his sword and flipped in the air.

The puppets never knew what hit them. Finn flew down, spinning, sword aloft, and smashed through Muscle Princess like a drill. His sword flashed and spun and the puppets melted before him. Slowly but steadily, Finn cut a path towards Princess Bubblegum.

The Ice King was actually holding his own. Jungle Princess swiped at him, going for his crown, but the old man was too fast for the puppet. A blast of ice later and the faux-princess had a frozen hand. He spun around and iced another princess before briefly taking flight to send a shower of hail down on his assailants.

Finn finally reached the battle, ice sword in hand. The improvised weapon was beginning to melt a little, and it slipped slightly in Finn's cold fist. "Ice King!" Finn called out, laying a hand on the man's shoulder.

The Ice King whirled around and shot a blast of ice at Finn, who yelled and used the ice sword to deflect it. "Get away from her!" he shouted.

"Whoa, dude," Finn said, dodging another ice blast. "What's your problem?"

The Ice King had a look on his face that Finn had never seen before. His eyes were wild, and for a second Finn thought he saw a flash of black within them. "I have to save her," the Ice King muttered, almost to himself. "I have to save my princess…" His voice trailed off so that Finn had to strain his ears to hear the last word. "_Betty…."_

"Dude!" Finn shouted, whacking the Ice King on the head with the back of his sword. "Now is not the time!"

The Ice King fell back for a moment, stunned, then looked at Finn curiously. "Finn!" he said, "What are you doing here?"

Finn rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for the Ice King's craziness right now. "Just fight, man!" he shouted, swinging his sword to cleave another puppet in half. The Ice King lingered for a moment longer, as if trying to recall a dream, but then he shook his head and rejoined the fray.

He iced another puppet and then wiped his brow. "Hey, Finn?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"Is it getting hot in here?"

* * *

"Take _that_, you dirty, nasty, little…" Flame Princess muttered to herself as she burned another princess puppet. They littered the ground around her, fueling her flame and making her grow taller and angrier. The _impudent_ fools that had thought themselves powerful enough to _spit _on her were melting under her wrath. She had stopped using fireballs some time ago, instead opting for a constant stream of fire shot from both hands. The soot covered rocks cracked and burned, music to the princess' ears.

Those fools had thought to mess with _fire_, and now they were paying the price. She would burn every last thing in this cave, burn it until all had dissolved into ash and soot, burn it until the very rocks themselves melted and flowed together once more. She would ensure that this cave, and the nasty creatures that lived in it, were _wiped off the face of the earth_.

Flame Princess grew ever taller, towering over the city and its inhabitants. Through her haze of rage she thought she heard a voice she recognized, but she was too far gone to care.

It was time to burn.

* * *

"Oh, no…" Finn said as he watched Flame Princess grow ever taller. She was enormous, nearly fifty feet tall, and the heat radiating off her body filled the cavern. The temperature shot up almost instantly, and Finn felt sweat break out all over his face.

The sounds of the battle died down as everyone stopped fighting to stare. The puppet princess gawked at the flaming behemoth that was torching their city; they seemed almost unable to act.

"We have to do something!" Finn shouted at the Ice King, who was staring, openmouthed, at the princess. He turned to Finn.

"This is your _girlfriend?_" he asked, looking at Finn with something akin to admiration. "I think you might have a keeper."

"Ice King! Focus!" Finn shouted. "Can you ice her a bit or something? Don't hurt her or anything," he said quickly, "but, you know, cool her down or something?"

"Sorry, Finn, but no can do," the Ice King said. "The heat in this room is beginning to cancel out my powers. I don't have much ice left. And besides, she's too powerful now for me to stop." He scratched his nose. "Hmm. It's a pickle."

Finn scrunched up his face and thought. The air in the cave was heating up almost to the breaking point; he thought he smelled his sneakers burning. If Flame Princess didn't stop soon, they would all be baked alive. He looked around for a solution but could find nothing. _If I can just talk to her, I'm sure I can calm her down. But how? I'll be broiled if I go any closer. Unless…_ His eyes swiveled over to the Ice King, who was staring blankly into the middle distance.

"Ice King!"

"Huh? What?"

"How much ice do you have left?"

Ice King shot a few experimental ice bolts out of his hands. They flew a short distance and then fizzled out. "Not much. Enough to freeze a person or two, but that's about it."

"Perfect," Finn said, a smile gracing his features. "Now, here's what I want you to do." He leaned in and whispered into the Ice King's ear. The blue man's face was blank for a moment, and then he looked at Finn.

"You want me to do what?" he said.

Finn rolled his eyes. "Just do it, Ice King."

"Well, alright then," Ice King said, his hands glowing blue. "But only because you asked."

* * *

Fire. Flames. Burning. Soot. Ember. She was all of these things and more. She was destruction. She was consumption. The error of a thousand years, the failed ending of the world, would be rectified today. She was here. And all would burn.

Through her haze of destruction she perceived a mass of people running from her, and a few other, larger people staying put. She thought they might mean something to her, but decided it didn't really matter. Sooner or later, all things fed the fire.

She focused her energy on the ceiling, cooking and melting the rock. It broke away in semi-molten pieces that fell to the floor around her, smashing and burning the city below. It was so beautiful. She couldn't wait to share the fire with the rest of Ooo.

Something quite abruptly crashed into her, something hard and large and _cold._ It barreled through her middle, and although the cold wasn't enough to seriously harm her, it dimmed her fire and cooled the air somewhat. She twisted around, ready to attack the object, to destroy it and burn it until there was nothing left but ash. She brought all her energy into destroying the form on the ground, rushing closer and closer…

…and then she stopped. Lying on the ground, motionless in the heat, was a young boy. His cap was off (why did she know he wore a cap?) and his blond hair hung around his face. He was scuffed and beaten, his skin just beginning to redden from the fire all around him. He looked so familiar…

_Finn._

The name floated through her burning mind, lazily at first, then with increasing intensity. _Finn!_ With the rush of a sleepwalker coming out of a dream, Flame Princess realized what was going on. Everything came rushing back: the trek through the Candy Forest, the fight with Ice King, and then her rampage against the little people… burning everything.

"Finn!" she shouted, lowering the flames all around her and sinking to the ground. "Finn, are you okay? Oh my glob, I'm so sorry! I- I couldn't stop myself! There was so much _fuel_ around and I was so _angry_, and… and…" she petered off as she shrank back down and got a better look at Finn. He didn't look good. His skin was raw and blistering, and his breathing was shallow and erratic. His eyes were closed and he was moaning something.

"Finn…?" she asked. He didn't move. "Finn! Wake up!" She thought about shaking him but decided against it; he didn't need any more burns. "Finn, please, wake up! I need you-" she said, picking up one of the smaller chunks of ice lying on the ground. It hissed and stung, burning her hand. She ignored the pain and placed the ice on Finn's face, leaning in as she did so. "—to be okay…" she whispered, pressing her lips to the ice.

Pain, cold, dreadful, pain, greeted her, spreading an awful nothingness across her face, but she ignored it. If Finn was going to be hurt every time he touched her, then the least she could do was to return the favor. Her red hot skin melted through the ice, her now cool lips meeting Finn's. She kissed him as she never had before, never had the chance to before, pressing her lips against his and breathing a hot breath of life into his mouth. She felt him stir beneath her, but she didn't stop; her face would heat up again soon and she wanted to savor every last second.

After an eternity, she felt her face begin to heat up again and she pulled away. Finn was awake, staring at her with wide eyes. He opened his mouth, words tumbling stupidly out: "I, you, that was… wow," he finally finished, eyes shining.

She blushed with pleasure. The feeling in her face was beginning to come back, but the sting lingered, as it always did when she was burned with cold. She didn't mind; Finn was worth it.

A loud sobbing sound burst the bubble. Flame Princess turned around to see a blubbering Ice King using his robe to wipe his eyes. "That… was… _beautiful!_" he said through renewed sobs. "It just touches me too deeply…" he trailed off, continuing to cry. Flame Princess rolled her eyes and turned back to Finn. "So, hero, what now?" she asked.

Finn picked himself up. "Now?" he said, "now we start cleanup. Bubblegum needs to go to the hospital, and we need to get out of here. The little people fled for the moment, but I have a bad feeling they'll be back. At least we trashed their puppet plan, though." He gestured to the mass of partially burnt cloth scraps that littered the cavern."

Flame Princess groaned. "Running away to fight another day? That doesn't sound too heroic."

Finn winked at her. "I'll tell you what," he said. "After we get out of here and everything gets totes calmed down, we could come back here and finish the job, just the two of us. That is, if you feel up for more adventuring…"

Flame Princess looked at him for a moment and a grin split her features. "I'd love to," she said.

"Great!" Finn said, walking over to where his bear cap had fallen. "It's a date."

**The End**

* * *

**AN: So, hey guys, if anyone's still out there. Heh, heh... So here I present to you the final chapter of ****A Burning Problem****, and I have to say I like it a lot. I can't believe how long it took me to update, though, and I have to say that I am ****_extremely_**** sorry to everyone out there. I've been working on other writing projects, mainly original fiction, and this story just sort of got pushed to the back. It's no excuse, I know, but I'm a horrible procrastinator and put things off for****_ever._**** But I told myself when I began this story that I would finish no matter what, and here it is. **

**A massive thank you to everyone who took the time to review; I've literally read each review like a dozen times by now. It's one of the best parts about writing fiction, and I can't thank you guys enough. And for those of you who haven't reviewed, please do! It's seriously the coolest thing ever to read reviews on something you've published.**

**I've got a few other stories in the works, including a pretty big "saving Simon Petrikov" style story. But don't expect that for a while; I need to write buffer chapters. If/when I publish anything else on this site, I don't want to have such a horrible update rate.**

**So yeah, that's all I got. I catch you dogs in my next story. Peace!**

**-Janus**


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